This year, the organizers received 866 submissions from 585 artists across the country. Following a two-stage selection process, 211 works by 185 artists aged between 18 and 35 were chosen for the exhibition.
The figures alone demonstrate the scale of young artists’ interest in contemporary art. But what is particularly striking is that many of the works exist at the intersection of tradition and new artistic languages.
The artists use materials deeply rooted in Vietnamese culture — lacquer, silk, and ceramics — and combine them with contemporary forms and approaches. The exhibition features painting, sculpture, printmaking, and works made from stainless steel.
The themes explored in the works also reflect the changes taking place in Vietnamese society. Artists address cultural identity, memory, social change, and the relationship between people and their environment.
At the same time, tradition here does not appear as something static or confined to a museum.
Young artists are not choosing between the “traditional” and the “contemporary.” Instead, they use cultural heritage as a material through which to speak about the present — reinterpreting familiar techniques, images, and symbols through their own experiences and contemporary concerns.
One of the festival’s central themes is precisely cultural identity in a time of change. How can we maintain a connection with the past without turning tradition into a mere reproduction of it? And can an ancient artistic language still speak about the contemporary human experience?
Among the works recognized by the jury are Nguyễn Thúy Hằng’s lacquer painting Dòng Chảy S’tiêng (S'tiêng Flow), Lê Quỳnh Anh’s graphic work Tồn Tại Mờ Ảo (Ephemeral Existence), and Dương Đức Duy’s sculpture Giữa Hai Thời (Between Two Eras), made from stainless steel and laterite.
The title of the latter — “Between Two Eras” — aptly describes the position of young Vietnamese art today.
The past does not disappear here. It becomes part of a new artistic language.
The 8th Young Artists Festival is taking place at the Vincom Centre for Contemporary Art (VCCA) in Hanoi until September 15, 2026.
Admission is free.
